494 
in few words. His answers were just and 
precise ; his replies not deficient in point and 
smartness. His voice was rough aad manly : 
he gave the word of command with peculiar 
distinctness. His whole person announced 
serenity, experience, and firmness of charaec- 
ter; commanded attention, obedience, and 
respect.” 
These volumes contain a great many 
BIOGRAPHY. 
letters of Frederick the Great: they are 
written by a lady of high rank, and who 
enjoyed the personal friendship of Zie- 
ten, from whose lips she received a large 
portion of the materials for his biogra- 
phy. The style of the translation is 
easy and fluent: the work is printed at 
Berlin, and abounds with typographical - 
errors. 
Art.WN. The Cambrian Biography, or Historical Notice of celebrated Men among the An- 
cient Britons. By Witiiam Owen, F. 4.8. Small 8vo. pp. 345. 7 
CONSIDERING ourselves as lite- 
rary purveyors, whose duty it is to se- 
lect, with caution, from the promiscu- 
ous banguet offered to the public, a 
sample of every article which we think 
productive of nutriment, or likely to 
gratify, without vitiating the taste; we 
are apt to be upon our guard against 
those quintessences, and elixirs, and epitomes, 
which are frequently exposed to sale, as 
eontaining a marvellous compression and 
condensation of knowledge, and profes- 
sing to supersede the necessity for that 
more material and voluminous nourish- 
ment which is commonly prepared by 
legitimate cookery. With this impres- 
sion on our minds, we first took up 
this little volume of Cambrian Biogra- 
phy. 
The principality of Wales, it is true, 
presents to the eye of the geographer a 
small and insignificant spot, when com- 
pared with the extent of Great Britain : 
yet if we consider that it is the native 
country of genealogies, and: that in its 
history, the arrival of the Saxons, whom 
we consider as our remote ancestors, is 
almost a modern event; it must appear 
strange that a duodecimo volume of 
Jess than 350 pages should be presented 
to the public as containing an adequate 
account of Cambrian biography. 
Strange however as it does seem, we 
must in justice confess, that in our re- 
ferences to this little work we 
never been disappointed; that we have 
found as many “ historical notices” re- 
‘ specting every name with which we 
were acquainted, as Welsh history, or 
evén Welsh tradition, could be reason- 
ably expected. to furnish ; that many of 
the articles contain hints which, when 
properly followed up, appear likely to 
throw much new light on the obscurest 
parts of literature; and that in general 
the Cambrian Biography bears fresh tes- 
timony of the learning, the candour, 
and the modesty of the industrious au- 
thor of the Welsh Dictionary. 
z 
have’ 
Mr. Owen professes to have given in 
the present work, a mere outline of 
Welsh biography ; and says, in his pre- 
face, “ at some future period, and in 
other hands, such a meagre skeleton, 
perhaps, may grow into a form moré 
consistent with its appellation, But, in 
the first instance, it was of importance 
to bring together all the names deserv- 
ing of remembrance, though the small 
extent of the plan might admit of no- 
thing more than barely recording the 
greater portion of them, so as to leave 
room for such memorials as related to 
the most important characters connected 
with history.” 4 
We are aware that nothing can be 
more unjust, though nothing is more 
common, than to criticise an author for 
not doing what he never professed to do. 
We therefore can only lament that Mr.’ 
Owen’s avocations are likely to preclude’ 
him from completing the edifice, after 
having employed so much labour and 
research in the collection of materials. 
But, as every book of reference is of 
some value, inasmuch as it tends to 
abridge the labour of the student, and 
as Welsh literature appears likely to at- 
tract, in this inquisitive age, much 
more attention than has been hitherto 
bestowed upon it, we think it our duty” 
to recommend a few obvious improve- 
ments which may be introduced into a 
future edition of this book, with little 
trouble to the author, and with great 
convenience to the reader. 
Ist, As this dictionary is principally. 
intended for the advantage of those who 
are strangers to the Welsh language, we’ 
think that the name by which any cha-' 
racter is familiarly known to the Eng- 
lish, should always be entered in its. 
place, with a reference to the articles 
under which it is afterwards more fully - 
described. Thus Caractacus, Cassi-: 
bellaunus, &c. ought to stand in their 
natural order, because the ignorant reader 
is very likely to overlook them under’ 
